Sea spin fishing?

Hi all,
I'm new to sea fishing here so all advice is welcome. I've currently been using a spin rod from the beach, but keep loosing lures in snags. Should I buy some floating lures to avoid this or just start ledgering? Sorry if this all sounds really basic.

Soft plastic lures are the way to go in snaggy ground, you will still lose a few but they are cheap and effective. 30lb braid and a 20lb mono leader will give you a good chance of pulling the lures out of the weed which I suspect is the problem. Floating lures will also help.

How close do fish actually come into the shore? I can cast about 60 yards.

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Have I actually got much chance spinning from the shoreline? What could I catch? Sorry but I've fished freshwater my whole life

They can come right in on some beaches. 3rd wave!

Stu

I've decided to get a surf spin rod that can cast 4oz and go from there. All the tactics look similar to ledgering and feeder fishing. Just have to learn on the go.

If you're getting snagged spinning, I wouldn't ledger as you'll lose your gear in the snags. You could try float fishing which should keep you away from them providing you don't set it too deep. The rod you mention won't be a lot of good for spinning or float fishing as it will be too stiff. Better off using a heavyish feeder rod or a decent spinning rod. Rods with a Casting weight 20-50 gram or about 1.5lb test curve fast action should do.

If your getting snagged your fishing where the Bass should be.....at sometime during the tide.

Use Senko worms or Slug-Go soft lures with the hook point set in the up position, this way it will bounce off the snags unless they are nets!
The two biggest Bass Ive seen caught on rod and line both took a 3" soft eel bait fished on the surface......and each went over 10kgs.

Use hard bodied lures of good and known quality, Lucky Craft and Yozuri Crystal Minnows are my favs.
Only use one or two hooks max, and file down the lip to shallow up the dive, 50% off a C minnow and it will only go down 15".

If the snags are breaking the surface use poppers, Yozuri Hydros are good as are those shrimp like things made by Siebble.

Remember you will catch far more by casting parrarell with the shoreline or around and over structure and on the flood rather than the ebb.

Any probs, comeback.

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lightdragoon said:

I've decided to get a surf spin rod that can cast 4oz and go from there. All the tactics look similar to ledgering and feeder fishing. Just have to learn on the go.

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Greys seaspin? my weapon of choice but then my local fishing is quite challenging.

aebitim said:

Greys seaspin? my weapon of choice but then my local fishing is quite challenging.

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If we could catch one a chuck we wouldn't be doing it would we


Hows it going down your end btw?


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mick b said:

The two biggest Bass Ive seen caught on rod and line both took a 3" soft eel bait fished on the surface......and each went over 10kg

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If those 2 bass were caught on rod and line from the shore in the UK they would both be record fish.
I believe the current record is 19lb 11oz 12dr from Sandown pier IOW.

mick b said:

If we could catch one a chuck we wouldn't be doing it would we


Hows it going down your end btw?


.

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Hi Mick,
Slings and arrows in spades at the moment, managed to get out a couple of times but no luck yet, will be trying the Purbecks thurs if the gods are benevelent. .

peter crabtree said:

If those 2 bass were caught on rod and line from the shore in the UK they would both be record fish.
I believe the current record is 19lb 11oz 12dr from Sandown pier IOW.

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Hi Peter,
No they were caught elsewhere.

Amazing story really.
A guy around 70 watched the local professionals catching dozens of Bass from an immense shoal just off the end of a big stone breakwater, this guy catches the ferry back into town, buys a rod, reel and line combo from an street vendor, a buldo and two Ragalu eels from the tackle shop and goes back to the frenzy.

On his second or third cast he hooks a biggie and manages to drag it to the rocks where one of the pros nets it for him, the old guy then makes a few more casts and hooks an even bigger fish which runs off all his 40-50m of line where everything locks up, the fish stops and the reel stops working as wellmg:
Taking pity one of the pros handlines the fish in for him then tells him his luck has just run put and he must leave.......which he does with his two fish.

My Clube was an official IGFA weigh station and as the only weigh-master present I weighed both fish for the guy before he sold them to a restaurant in town.
My only regret is that no photographs were taken of the fish.

I've actually seen bigger Bass swimming free but none bigger landed.
.........

Note;
A 20+ and a 24 were landed and released on the IOW this spring, by the same angler, but no record claims have been submitted to my knowledge.

.

if you want to lure fish for the bass then a rod casting 4oz is way too heavy. Something around the 10-40g is about right. You can use the rod for ledgering crab down the side of rocks, and lobbing frozen sandeels into the surf. You rarely have to go far out for bass.. the trick to sea fishing is learning where the fish are at certain states of the tide. It sounds obvious but if they ain't there, you can't catch them. Some marks are good at low tide and some at high tide, and somewhere is good at all states in between. Coincide a suitable tide state to early morning or late evening/night and you should catch bass.

not sure what lures you are getting snagged and how deep the water over the top of the rocks is but personally I'd use surface lures or as Mick said, 4-6" weightless slug-go's fished with taps and pauses. You can get very shallow running lures as well but fishing topwaters in the sea is good fun in itself and any bass that hits them is a bonus.

have you got a budget for the rod?

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mick b said:

A 20+ and a 24 were landed and released on the IOW this spring, by the same angler, but no record claims have been submitted to my knowledge.
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Wow! Those are some fish Mick and great that they were returned.

nice story about the old boy as well.